Spring Recipes

Being it's asparagus season - this is a killer recipe for making asparagus. I don't bother steaming it any more, I just make it this way now:

INGREDIENTS
1 lb asparagus spears (thick spears are best for roasting)
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher Salt
Freshly grated black pepper
Lemon juice

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Rinse clean the asparagus. Break the tough ends off of the asparagus and discard.

2 Lay the asparagus spears out in a single layer in a baking dish or a foil-covered roasting pan. Drizzle olive oil over the spears, roll the asparagus back and forth until they are all covered with a thin layer of olive oil. (Alternatively you can put the asparagus and oil in a plastic bag, and rub the bag so that the oil gets evenly distributed.) Sprinkle with minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Rub over the asparagus so that they are evenly distributed.

3 Place pan in oven and cook for approximately 8-10 minutes, depending on how thick your asparagus spears are, until lightly browned and tender when pierced with a fork. Drizzle with a little fresh lemon juice before serving.

I skip the garlic & lemon juice, and just drizzle with olive oil & then thick ground salt and fresh cracked pepper. Use the thicker stalks for this recipe, it turns out a bit better than the thin. Supposed to serve 4. It tastes so good, it only serves 2 in this house!



Salmon-stuffed Snow Peas (appetizer)

1/2 pound fresh snow peas (about 75)
1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese
1 package (3 ounces) smoked salmon or lox, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Place 1 in. of water in a saucepan; add peas. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and immediately place peas in ice water. Drain and pat dry. With a sharp knife, split each pea pod along the curved edge.

In a bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the salmon, garlic salt and pepper. Transfer to a pastry bag or heavy-duty resealable bag; cut a hole in corner of bag. Pipe in about 1 teaspoon salmon mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Yield: 25 servings.


For a boneless leg of lamb, I followed this guy's guideline for roasting > http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/blog/meat-recipes/roast-boneless-leg-of-lamb/ However, I put in lots of slivers of garlic all over the leg of lamb. Turned out really good, and I think I am going to get a leg of lamb for this Sunday. Hopefully they will have them at the store!